Purge of voter rosters bumped numbers: But locals still think more should hit the polls

Thursday

Sep 13, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By OLIVER JENKINS ojenkins@fosters.com

DOVER — Despite what appeared a slow and minimal turnout Tuesday, Strafford County's four most populous communities — Dover, Rochester, Durham and Somersworth — all reported increases in voter turnout in comparison to the 2010 primary.

However, Tuesday's figures may be bolstered by a voting purge — an act which removes individuals from their town's voting checklist after a certain period of inactivity. "It's an effort every 10 years to clean up the checklists," said David Scanlan, deputy of elections for the N.H. Secretary of State. "When someone hasn't voted in an election in the last four years — whether it's local, state, or national — we send them a notice at their mailing address."

If contact is unsuccessful after numerous attempts, the name is ultimately removed from the checklist.

As Scanlan explained Wednesday, although approximately 170,000 names from around the state were removed from local checklists, it's still unclear what impact, if any, these cuts will have on current figures.

On Wednesday, clerks for all four communities acknowledged major purges have taken place within the past year. Dover reportedly removed around 800 names, Somersworth around 1,500, Durham approximately 2,000, and Rochester roughly 4,000. But it's unclear how heavily these numbers will effect current figures.

"It's just too early to tell at this point," Scanlan said. "We won't know the role these purges will have on current figures until the end of the week." For now, most towns and cities throughout the area are reporting increases in voter turnout.

Dover, boasting a total of 17,923 registered voters, reported an overall turnout percentage of 22 percent — up from 18 percent in the 2010 primary.

However, moderators throughout the city's six wards still expressed disappointment with Tuesday's turnout.

"People just don't seem to care to vote for primary elections," said Ward 2 moderator Suzanne Christenbury. "People forget there's a primary," said elected official Thom Hindle, also speaking at Ward 2's location at the First Parish Church.

Nonetheless, five out of Dover's six wards reported increases in turnout percentages. The sole exception, Ward 3, remained the same at 23 percent.

In Somersworth, primary voting increased from 2010 figures by approximately 7 percent — from just 13 percent in 2010 to 20 percent on Tuesday. Still, even with 1,205 registered voters dispersing throughout the city to cast their ballots, voting stations appeared empty at many points throughout the day.

Joanne Demers, moderator for the Ward 5 polling station in Somersworth, said it would be considered a good day to have just 150 voters show up to cast a ballot Tuesday.

"It's just been so slow," she said while looking around the empty Romeo Messier Building at 218 Main St. "The primaries usually have low numbers."

"Terrible," replied Frank Dumont when asked about Tuesday's attendance. Dumont, moderator for the Ward 3 voting station at the Flanagan Community Center, said the busiest hour for the center was between 8 to 9 a.m.

"It's just traditionally low," he said in regards to primary voting. "This is because it's a state and local vote."

In Durham, voter turnout was at approximately 19 percent — up from just 11 percent in 2010. While 1,051 registered voters cast ballots back in 2010, 1,482 voters trekked out to the polls on Tuesday — an increase of 431 voters.

Figures were even higher in Rochester, where all six of the city's wards reported fairly consistent numbers. Voter turnout for Tuesday was reported at 25 percent, with 4,039 voters casting ballots. Again, this number is much higher than in 2010, when only 16.4 percent of Rochester's registered voters headed to the polls.

Smaller N.H. towns also reported seeing higher rates.

In Northwood, voter turnout was at 24 percent, "much more than expected," said Deputy Town Clerk Sharon Olsson. Out of 2,973 registered voters in Northwood, 720 came to the polls during Tuesday's primary election.

In Strafford, 784 out of 2,822 registered voters cast ballots, with a large proportion of voters coming during the latter part of the day. "All of a sudden the flood gates opened after 5 p.m.," said Strafford Town Clerk Diane Waldron, who said about 284 residents voted after 5 p.m.

New Durham, a town of 1,792 registered voters, reported 462 people voted Tuesday, a 26 percent turnout rate. This is slightly higher than the town's 24.5 percent turnout rate in 2010.

Farmington also reported an increase in turnout, from 16 percent to 20.5 percent.

The value of these statistics may change in the next several days as experts determine what type of role voting purges played in primary turnout rates.

Regardless, many still think more voters need to come out and support local and state politics.

"I just don't understand why people wouldn't be more concerned about things such as who's going to be our next governor," said Wendy Fox outside of the Charpentier Apartments — which also doubled as the Somersworth Ward 4 voting station. "Voting during the presidential election is very important, but we need more people to come out and vote for local and state races, too."

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